The Issue:
At the onset of the 110th Congress in January 2007, Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC) reintroduced the Berry Amendment Extension Act, HR 917, to expand Berry Amendment protections to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes the Border Patrol, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other agencies.  While the Hayes bill did not reach floor action in the 110th Congress, in May 2007, the House approved the DHS Authorization bill (HR 1684), which contained a faulty provision by Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC) that would have required the manufacturing of uniforms, protective gear, badges and ID cards in the United States, but did not require the inputs to be of U.S. origin.  Unfortunately, this well-intended language did not track with the Berry Amendment, which requires items to be 100% American-made.  In addition, the language was not compliant with U.S. international trade obligations.  Although Rep. Hayes tried to insert his language through a series of parliamentary moves, he was ultimately rebuffed on a vote of 217 to 199 (the voted needed to fail in order for the procedural tactic to succeed).  A separate vote to strip the Etheridge language from the bill entirely also failed on a vote of 36 to 390.   The DHS Authorization bill passed the House with the Etheridge language, but did not see action in the Senate before the end of the 110th Congress.  

AAFA on the Issue:
AAFA strongly supports the Berry Amendment as a national security issue and as a vital way to maintain a strong industrial base for the domestic production of our military’s clothing and textile needs. AAFA works closely with Members of Congress, the Administration and other supporters of Berry who fight for its continued preservation and hopeful expansion to the Department of Homeland Security. While the Berry Amendment still holds firm support by a majority of Congress, AAFA works also hard to defend Berry against legislative proposals, amendments and regulations that attempt to dilute or weaken the law.

Status:
With the end of the 110th Congress, no new changes to the statute were made.

What's Next:
The Berry Amendment Extension Act will likely be reintroduced in January 2009 at the beginning of the 111th Congress.  AAFA will continue to push the Berry Amendment Extension Act as a stand-alone bill or as part of next year’s DHS Authorization bill.

More Information: Kurt Courtney, Manager, Government Relations, 703-797-9034

The Latest News:

02.17.09
Later today, President Barack Obama will sign HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes an important AAFA-supported provision to extend the Berry Amendment to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). For sixty years, the Berry Amendment has enabled American apparel and footwear manufacturers to produce the best and most innovative equipment for America's military. This extension will now give those domestic manufacturers more opportunity to provide their services for the protection of our homeland. Taking effect in six months, the new provision will apply to new contracts for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) so that the United States remains consistent with its international trading agreements.

02.10.09
Debate continues in the US Senate this week on the stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, where the fate of an important provision to extend the Berry Amendment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) still remains uncertain. Specifically, the amendment, introduced by Congressman Larry Kissell (D-NC), would provide America's domestic clothing, footwear and textile manufacturing base with opportunities to bid on new contracts for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Meanwhile, despite last minute efforts by AAFA and others in the footwear industry, the Affordable Footwear Act appears to have not made the Senate version of the stimulus package. AAFA and the rest of the footwear coalition will continue to fight for inclusion of the Affordable Footwear Act when the US House of Representatives and Senate meet in conference in an attempt to reconcile the markedly different House and Senate versions of the stimulus package. While final passage of the Senate bill is expected this week, the next couple days will prove crucial to the version ultimately voted on by Congress and signed by President Obama.

05.19.08
Last week, the House Armed Services Committee approved the $712 billion FY09 National Defense Authorization bill (HR 5658). Some of the most contentious votes came on issues such as ballistic missile defense, the Army's Future Combat System and a number of personnel-related amendments. Interestingly, Section 655 of the legislation reaffirms the Berry Amendment requirements for the Department of Defense to purchase all military ribbons, decorations, badges, medals, insignia and other uniform accoutrements from U.S.-made sources. The legislation should be on the House floor in the coming week.

01.14.08
House Democratic Leaders plan to bring the 2008 National Defense Authorization bill back up for a vote this week to override a Presidential veto of the legislation. President Bush refused to sign the legislation due to a provision that was included in the final bill that would have allowed victims of state-sponsored terrorism to sue foreign governments in U.S. courts.

At this point, it seems likely that the override vote will not garner the 2/3 majority needed to pass. It is unclear if the Senate intends on following suit with an override vote of its own.

12.10.07
On December 4, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Textiles and Apparel, Matt Priest, announced the creation of a new website to provide U.S. textile and apparel manufacturers an easier way to access information on the Berry Amendment. AAFA wholeheartedly supports the Berry Amendment, which requires the Department of Defense to buy domestically produced apparel and textiles. Defense contracts are vital to the domestic industry, which produces innovative products including uniforms, tents and boots for our nation’s military services.

04.12.07
The House Homeland Security (DHS) Committee approved an authorization bill for the Department of Homeland Security (HR 1684) during a mark-up on March 28. As part of a debate that touched on security, border patrol, targeting systems and funding, the Committee-approved bill contains a provision with restrictions (for the DHS) similar to what is provided for in the Berry Amendment (with respect to the DoD). These provisions were drawn from a bill, H.R. 1686, sponsored by Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-NC), which would require uniforms, protective gear, badges or other insignia and identification cards to be made in the US. The amendment does not require that inputs be of US origin and does not include provisions that allow the United States to honor its WTO obligations or the national security component and thus would likely be opposed by the Administration.
AAFA has supported HR 917, the Berry Amendment Extension Act, sponsored by Congressman Robin Hayes (R-NC) that includes the WTO compliant provisions and actually extends the current Berry Amendment to DHS and particularly the Transportation Security Administration. By using the actual language from the current Berry Amendment as it applies to DOD, the Hayes language ensures that textile inputs are included in the requirements, which is a volatile part of the apparel and footwear supply chain. Although it remains unclear if the Committee approved authorization bill will be signed into law – the Committee has thus far failed to see an authorization bill enacted - AAFA will work with the DHS committee and Congressman Etheridge to address the issues currently lacking from the authorization bill as it moves through the process.

As part of the implementation of the changes to the Berry Amendment included in the FY 2006 Defense Authorization Act, AAFA submitted comments on March 23 in support of the foreign source restriction expansion. Specifically, this provision was prompted due to a concern that certain inputs like leather were not uniformly interpreted as being covered by the Berry Amendment due to the fact that they are not a textile input. The provision implemented under this regulation implementation includes a clarification to state that materials and components thereof would be covered. AAFA also encouraged the implementation of transparency provisions also included in the FY 2006 Authorization bill and a permanent posting of Berry waivers on FedBizOps or the Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia (DSCP) website.